Juke a name in later eras, a grunt in his
own was feared by all who heard its guttural utterance Juke the Brute, the
Bully, the Hooligan Juke who broke the Rule, then picked his reeking teeth with its
splintered bone who bent his mates to ground then mounted them from the rear
who learned to club his enemies when brawn would not suffice Juke the Clever, the
Cunning, the Sinister, he who spread malevolence far and near, led the monkey mind astray
incorrigibly, tainted future Ages with his oil-spill sperm Juke the Fluke, the
Mutant, the Spoiler Juke whose vice begot Original Sinin the long run, in the
starting blocks of a race lasting sixty million years (and then some), bound for a
box-canyon, led his hapless followers into Oblivion Juke the Stud, the Father, the
Fallen Angel Juke the Primogenitor, of your ilk and mine, once:

upon a hungry time, or a
lazy time, or during adolescence (Juke a juvenile), witnessed an elder sisters
giving birth to a stillborn (as often happened when food was scarce) leaving
it where it dropped, from her crotch, on a bed of bloodied fern fronds which, in his
siblings wake, younger brother nuzzled nibbled a tentative taste then
hastily devoured. That harsh season saw many such issues. Males of the troupe lost weight,
as females lost youngmales with one exception; Juke, it came to pass, gained vim and
vigor.

Would such a diet convert
an omnivore to a carnivore? Could cannibalism corrupt chromosomes, deeds deform genes? Or
was Jukes a quirk from birth unexpressed until given an opportunity? Whatever its
root the shoot grew fit and huge. Hormones mobbed Jukes bloodstream, pumped up his
muscles, glossed his auburn coat to an eye-catching sheen, made him
strutpuff-chested and semi-erectsnorting, tearing up turf, roaring at random,
his ego, like his testicles, gorged and inflamed, goading him into spates of unchecked
aggressiveness which led, at length, to his challenging the troupes most
formidable breeder, whom Juke, perforce, overcamethen summarily beat to death.

Never before had
ascensionso fatallybeen achieved. The troupe split. Mothers, preoccupied with
their offsprings survival, sided with Juke, sensing that his would be the traits to
prevail and rightly so, for those who balked went unfertilized, while rivals veered
into orbit or submitted without a fuss, confusion run rampant, irrespective, both camps
shocked and oppressed by the new world order.

Drought released its
strangle hold. Plenty returned. Meat resumed its place as an infrequent supplement
(temporarily)a staple only for Juke, his harem, and their bloodthirsty
broodwhile those who had abstained regrouped sans further persecution, the Trees of
Life and Knowledge went back to producing apples alone, and Time prepared to turn a less
putrid page.

Whereupon two of
Jukes reunified troupe wandered off (both from among the former dissidents), their
lineage-saving elopement accomplished sight unseen.